


Perturbation

by nineofcupsnpc, sunflower hwans (DandyDonut)



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Gen, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sharing a Bed, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 22:15:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17927378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nineofcupsnpc/pseuds/nineofcupsnpc, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DandyDonut/pseuds/sunflower%20hwans
Summary: Justin’s had the same routine for years. Pure sunshine Linong enters his life in the most unorthodox of ways and ruins it completely.✧ ✧ ✧Prompt:#32: "Justin is the son of a powerful land lord from the seaside Wenzhou district. The autumn nights are growing colder than ever as winter comes slowly. Justin hates the cold and often complains to his Lord father. His father resolves to get him a 'bed warmer.' Justin is against the idea. He was too young to engage in such activity. But his father insisted. What he didn't expect at his chamber was a tall teen like himself with the sole purpose of keeping people company while they sleep. This boy was a literal 'bed warmer.''Call me Nongnong' the boy said in with a heavy accent as he fluffed up  the beddings. Cue the awkward cuddling!"





	Perturbation

**Author's Note:**

> ive written 3 npc fics with justin and all of them feature him as an expensive nerd :pensive emoji:

> Per·tur·ba·tion
> 
> /ˌpərdərˈbāSH(ə)n/
> 
>  
> 
> ASTRONOMY
> 
> a minor deviation in the course of a celestial body, caused by the gravitational attraction of a neighboring body.

  
  


**JUSTIN**

The solution bubbles encouragingly as soon as I turn on the burner again. I hear Cheng Xiao’s hum of approval behind me, and when I squeeze three drops from my dropper into the flask, the solution turns pink.

 

All according to plan.

 

I sprinkle in the pinch of Lunar salts. They fizzle for a few seconds, then my world explodes into pink.

 

Annoyance washes over me as I hack out a few coughs. My lungs are itching like mad, and I’m completely blinded by pink. I really hope there was nothing toxic in there.

 

For a few moments, all is quiet besides the hissing of the burner. Jieqiong shatters it completely when she promptly bursts into laughter.  _ The audacity. _

 

I rip off my glasses to level a glare at her, though as soon as I open my eyes they’re burning. 

 

“Why are you even here! You’ve done nothing but laugh at me!” I snap. The only reason why I haven’t kicked her out is because Cheng Xiao could probably single-handedly hand my ass to me. Jieqiong could too, probably, laughing at me all the while. 

 

“There, there,” Cheng Xiao pats me on the shoulder, “Lunar salt crystals are finicky things, don’t worry, alright?” 

 

Whatever counseling effect that might’ve had is immediately canceled when Jieqiong croons, “It literally blew up in your face!” through her cackles. 

 

I wipe my glasses as spitefully as I can on my apron, which didn’t do much, anyway. Cheng Xiao, to her credit, punches Jieqiong on the shoulder (about time). This doesn’t stall Jieqiong the slightest, if anything she laughs harder, slapping the counter next to her.  

 

“You’re so mean!” I flick off the burner, “I’m never gonna call you jiejie again if you keep acting like this!” The solution is starting to drip down the table, and little pools of it have already started to form on the floor. I sigh. There should be paper towels somewhere? 

 

Jieqiong slides next to me and pinches my cheek, “You’re like an angry cat. It’s cute,” I scowl and rub at the spot. It’s probably already turning red - Jieqiong goes all out at literally everything, including pinching the cheeks of innocents. 

 

A quiet knock has us all pausing and turning to the door. A boy, probably taking in the pink mess spilled over the table and caked onto my face. He’s dressed black slacks and a white shirt, the uniform of the staff, complete with a blue collar and cuffs for the shirt. I don’t recognize him, so he’s probably part of the new staff my father has hired recently. 

 

“Lord Huang has requested your presence in ten minutes, for dinner,” the boy says softly. His eyes flicker to the mess behind me, “I’ll clean this up,” 

  
True to my father’s old fashioned style, sending a person rather than a comm.

 

Bowing, I say, “Thank you so much,” I know it’s breaking some sort of conduct, and yes, he’s technically being paid to do it, but there isn’t anyone around to scold me right now. 

 

The boy startles at this, “Please don’t, Shaoye. It’s really nothing!” 

 

Cheng Xiao drags me out of the room before I have a chance to say anything back.

 

~~~

 

After I change into a fresh blazer and wash my face, Cheng Xiao runs a comb through my hair. Thank goodness, the solution isn’t too sticky and is clear enough that it’s pretty much invisible after the bulk of it is wiped off. 

 

While we head to the right wing of the estate, Cheng Xiao fusses a bit more with my tie, but even she is pretty much satisfied. 

 

“Don’t you know what work clothes are?” Jieqiong idly remarks from the side. 

 

Cheng Xiao waves a hand in my direction, “Justin’s an expensive nerd, babe, he doesn’t know what work clothes are,” 

 

I quicken my pace and yell over my shoulder, “I hate you guys!” The banter is nice, honestly, though I’d never admit it out loud. I don’t really have many places where I can be carefree like this and say whatever comes to mind.

 

“Do you hear that, Xiaoxiao?” Jieqiong wipes away a fake tear as soon as she comes back into my field of vision, “our son is going through his rebellious phase,” 

 

Cheng Xiao joins in and says in mock sadness, “I thought we raised him well,” 

 

This earns another chorus of snickers, and before long, I join in as well, unable to resist it. 

 

The second we step into the dining room, I feel my mood dampen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I dislike my father or anything, it’s just that I’ve never really known how to act around him. I still care for him, but we were never close to begin with. 

 

Whenever we talk, I always get the sense that I’ve disappointed him somehow. Which is, well, understandable, but still makes for an uncomfortable relationship.

 

“Hi, Uncle,” Jieqiong greets my father casually. If it had been anyone else, my father would have probably gotten the guards to arrest them on the spot. But this is Jieqiong, and this is precisely why their interactions are always so funny to watch.

 

We take our seats at the table, and my father says a short prayer before we dig in. The food is delicious, and I sigh happily. Zhangjing, the cook my father has hired, never fails to impress me.

 

After a few minutes of silence, my father sets down his chopsticks and asks, “Has the weather still been bothering you, Minghao?” 

 

I blink at that. The cold is something I’ve mentioned a few times in passing, mostly because I’m too awkward to talk about anything besides the weather and my studies with my father. 

 

It  _ does _ bother me, though - the winters of Wenzhou are almost known for being cold and oppressive, and the feeling of waking up shivering, throat sore and a with a chill set within my bones is on the bottom of the list of my favourite things. 

 

”Yes,” I say quietly.

 

My father nods once, “Then, it’s settled. I have found a bed warmer for you, and he will be here shortly,” 

 

Next to me, Jieqiong chokes on her vegetables. 

 

My mind goes blank.  _ Bed warmer? Like a prostitute?  _ I hadn’t known my father even willingly acknowledged their existence, and now he was hiring one?

 

When Jieqiong stops coughing, she hisses out, “Uncle, with all due respect, Haohao is, like, twelve!” 

 

I see my father’s eyebrow twitch,  _ twitch _ . The only reason why he hasn’t kicked Jieqiong to the curb is because Cheng Xiao is his favourite niece. And the fact that Jieqiong’s dad is an important trading partner, and, from what I’ve heard from Cheng Xiao, Jieqiong has no qualms spilling details to her father, unlike me. 

 

And as weird and embarrassing as this situation is - my face feels so hot I could probably fry an egg on it - it’s also pretty amusing. 

 

If anything, my father just seems confused, “Jieqiong, Minghao is turning seventeen in a matter of weeks,” I stuff rice into my mouth to muffle my snickers. It almost feels like I’m in some kind of surreal, alternate reality. 

 

“I don’t see how forcing Minghao to sleep with someone would solve your little heating issue,” Jieqiong verbally bulldozes past whatever additional comments my father wanted to make. 

 

“Jieqiong,” My father massages his temples, “I think you have severely misunderstood the situation,”

 

Cheng Xiao smoothly cuts in before Jieqiong can reply, “Did you hear about what happened with Qunyin?”

 

“Don’t even get me started,” Jieqiong sighs, though she still seems a little bit irritated, “Anything related to the Qins is as messy as hell right now,”

 

“The government is in shambles, with the Crown Prince being dead,” My father says. I can’t tell if he’s agreeing or disagreeing with Jieqiong.

 

My studies don’t cover recent politics, not really, so I don’t actually know much about the whole power struggle besides what I’ve read on my newsfeed. 

 

Qunyin just seems like a distant planet. One that I’d love to visit someday, but distant, nevertheless. 

 

“It’s a shame,” Cheng Xiao remarks idly, “the Melancholy Little Prince seemed like he had potential to be a good ruler,” 

 

~~

 

When I finally make it back to my quarters, I’m satisfied, but exhausted. There’s a dull thrum behind my eyes that only comes from working at my computers for too long. I’m fully ready to collapse into my bed, day clothes and all.

 

Except I don’t.

 

There’s a tall boy in front of my bed, wearing the uniform of the staff. 

 

“Uh,” I say intelligently. 

 

He turns around from where he was fluffing up the bedding to bow, “My name is Chen Linong. Call me Nongnong,” His accent is thick - I can’t exactly put my finger on it. Grammarite, perhaps? No, it’s not that.

 

“Are you…” I can’t finish the sentence, which is, well, great. Way to make a first impression. 

 

“I have the main purpose of keeping you company while you sleep, Shaoye,” Linong explains. 

 

Oh.  _ Oh. _ So this Linong is a...literal bed warmer, “You’re a human heat source?” 

 

Linong’s eyes crinkle at that, and he says, “I will also serve as your personal attendant, but if that’s what you want to call it, Shaoye,” 

 

“You don’t have to call me that,” It comes out before I can stop myself, “When we’re alone, I mean,” While slavery is illegal in most of the neighbouring planets, indentures aren’t. And from what Zhangjing has told me and what I’ve gleaned through half-reliable blog posts in the black net, they’re next to impossible to pay off. 

 

The thought of someone being valued less just by virtue of birth makes me queasy, and I haven’t even experienced half of it. 

 

Linong tips his head to the side, “You want me to call you Minghao?” 

 

“Just,” I finally shuffle over to my desk to put my textbooks down, “Justin’s fine,” 

 

“Alright,” 

 

While I wanna crawl into a hole and never come out because I’m so awkward, Linong’s still smiling. I shrug off my blazer and drape it over the back of a chair.

 

All of a sudden exhaustion hits me like a brick to the chest. I tug off my tie and put it next to my books. 

 

“Do you need to shower, or anything?” Linong asks.

 

“Too tired,” I crawl under the sheets. One day won’t hurt.

 

And right, Linong is supposed to...join me. I shift over to give him room. 

 

Even though we’re on opposite sides of the bed, I can literally feel the heat radiating off of Linong. Human heat source indeed.

 

Actually getting benefits of the human heat source would probably require less space between us. But am I assertive to cozy up to a random person I just met not even an hour ago? No.

 

After awhile, the room goes dark, the sensors not sensing any movement and turning off the lights.

 

“Nongnong,” I whisper, because just lying here is more awkward than I could have ever expected, “Good night,”

 

“Night, Sh-Justin,” 

 

I have no idea how long it takes me to fall asleep. It feels like a lifetime.


End file.
